A problem arises with regard to devices that include lenses. Devices such as safety glasses, eyeglasses, cameras, binoculars, rifle scopes, microscopes, telescopes, video lenses, computer and analog monitors, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the like have lenses that must be kept clean in order to function at full capacity. Dirt, moisture, smears and or fogging, smudges, oil, and other debris present in the working environment of the device are a constant source of contamination and create an ongoing need for constant cleaning of the lens.
Prior art solutions range form using anything handy, shirt sleeves, tissue paper and such, to dedicated cleaning solutions and cloths. The problem with the prior art solutions are that the handy items may seriously compromise the lens, scratching or damaging it beyond usefulness. As the expense of the device increases the need for a proper, non-damaging solution to the problem increases such that users find themselves having to have a shelf load of cleaning supplies available when needed. Supplies required for a proper cleaning include a wide variety of devices and materials such as large particle dirt removers such as brushes and wipes. Also required are cleaning solutions, cleaning solution applicators and scrubbers, and cleaning and drying cloths that do not damage the lens. Such an assortment of materials is cumbersome and difficult to transport easily “in the field”, in particular, and as a result, lens care often reverts to what is handy. What is handy, though, risks seriously degrading the lens.
Further, one particularly vexing problem is access to and dispensing of the materials in these prior art kits. It is often difficult to access the various elements. In particular, fluid dispensing is difficult to regulate since closed containers are needed to contain the fluid but enabling the fluid to freely flow from those containers is a problem.
Thus, it is clear that a need exists for a fully self contained, optics maintenance apparatus and method for cleaning optics that enables a professional cleaning of a lens “in the field”, that is safe and easy to use and that is not cumbersome to carry or hard to maintain. It is a further object to provide a device where the various separate elements are easily dispensed and accessed.
It, therefore, is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus and method for cleaning optics that is not cumbersome to carry, that is easy to access and maintain, that is safe and easy to use and that enables a professional lens cleaning wherever and whenever needed.